Etikett: Executive orders

Though only two weeks old, the Trump presidency has been one crazy ride. For opponents of Trump’s candidacy, the bad news just keeps coming, in the form of problematic cabinet appointees and executive actions, crazy tweets, and disturbing public statements and performances. But at least Trump seems to have brought Americans together in one way: even those who are more sympathetic to Trump seem to have been a bit rattled by all the presidential news of these past two weeks.

Even more unsettling is the sheer pace of the news about the new administration. Making sense of it is like trying to drink from a firehose. Yet make sense of it we must, if only to begin to distinguish what is “normal,” as opposed to what is truly new and different about this president and the changes he intends to implement. What follows are two observations about what Trump has done since taking office. The first is about the nature of his executive actions, and the second is about his administration’s strategy of delivering them so quickly and to such destabilizing effect.